Dead.
by Icka M. Chif
Summary: AKA The Haunting of Zelgadiss. (Z/A) We killed Amelia! o_O;; Only she's not quite dead yet, she feels happy... Not Angst!!!!!


This is a 'What the Heck am I THINKING?!' fic. Absolutly no clue, just hanging on for the ride.  
  
*****  
  
Zelgadiss dreamt that he was having a pleasant conversation with Amelia. This wasn't unusual in the least bit, he often dreamt of her. The Princess was as bubbly and giggly as ever, and seemed to be in rather high spirits.   
  
Then he woke up and continued the conversation. Amelia did in any rate. He talked in grumbles and snorts.  
  
Zelgadiss was NOT a morning person.   
  
He walked down the hall to the bathroom, oblivious to the strange looks people gave him as he continued conversing with Amelia. He didn't blink twice when she followed him into the bathroom to do his morning routine. Regardless of the fact that she was already dressed and groomed.   
  
He did however notice several minutes after the fact that he had reached thru her stomach to grab his towel.  
  
"Aaaah!!!"  
  
Startled, he stumbled back several steps, slipped on a bar of soap and crashed backwards into a wall.   
  
Amelia blinked. "Zelgadiss-san?" She asked. "Are you alright?"  
  
He stared back, his jaw somewhere around his knees. "Uh..."  
  
After a few heartbeats, he shook his head. Very carefully, he tapped his head.   
  
It was solid.  
  
He reached forward to tap Amelia's head.  
  
His hand passed thru her. Repeatedly.   
  
Amelia tilted her head to the side and looked at him with wide eyes. "Zelgadiss-san?"  
  
"Just a moment." He muttered, trying to collect his scattered wits and re-gain some of his dignity.   
  
He pondered the facts. After all, he was a logical chimera. Unfortunately, the conclusion his mind was presenting him was not one that he felt comfortable with.  
  
"You're dead."  
  
Amelia nodded. "I thought we covered that already, Zelgadiss-san." She said cheerfully. "Right before you woke up."  
  
"I woke up." He repeated dully. Then, for good measure, he pinched himself. It hurt. Yup, he was awake.   
  
He pinched his eyes shut and rubbed his forehead, his mental processes now awake and hurting. "Amelia?"  
  
"Yes, Zelgadiss-san?"  
  
"Can you do me a favour?"  
  
"What?"  
  
"Would you mind disappearing for a few minutes?"  
  
"Why, Zelgadiss-san?"  
  
"Because I'd like to get dressed before anything else happens."  
  
She blushed. A distant part of his mind wondered just how a ghost could blush. He ignored it. "Sorry. I'll... just wait outside."  
  
With an embarrassed grin, Amelia floated back thru the door.   
  
Zelgadiss sighed. Clothes first. Then coffee. -Then- he'd try to figure out why the Princess of Saillune was apparently haunting him.  
  
What a way to wake up....  
  
***  
  
"You're going to have to remind me." He said, feeling somewhat more awake and in control of his mental recesses after the first cup of coffee. "What happened to you?"  
  
Amelia shrugged. "An assassination attempt on Tousan last night. I got in the way, and well... here I am."  
  
"You don't remember anything else?"  
  
"Nope." She shook her head. "It was too fast, just a flash of light, then I was talking to you."  
  
He frowned, a puzzled expression on his face. "Why were you talking to me?"  
  
She smiled. "I always talk to you in my head when every I'm confused about something. It helps."  
  
"Oh." He took sip of coffee to cover the slight blush gracing his cheeks. She giggled at it. He decided it was time to change the subject.   
  
"So can anyone else see you?" He asked.  
  
"You're the only one so far." Amelia said, glancing around the room. That was when Zelgadiss realised that he was garnering some particular looks from people.   
  
Stupid! He could see her, but to anyone else it probably looked like he was having a conversation in mid-air. And worse yet, it was answering.   
  
Amelia followed his train of thought. "Why don't we continue this on the road?" She suggested.   
  
He nodded, quickly rising from his chair.   
  
He already got strange looks because of his looks. He didn't people thinking he was crazy on top of that.   
  
***  
  
"Where are we going, Zelgadiss-san?" Amelia asked as they left the village at a brisk pace.   
  
"Saillune." He said, pulling down his facemask. He didn't mind the hood so much, it kept the hot sun off of his shiny hair, but the mask occasionally got suffocating. And it felt weird having it up while Amelia was around.  
  
She tilted her head to the side. "Why?"  
  
"If you're dead, that means that there's going to be a funeral for you." He explained.  
  
Amelia made a face. "Going to my own funeral?"  
  
"Well, you're dead now." He shrugged. "You only have one funeral anyway. And I want to see if they caught who ever did this."  
  
The Princess looked solemn for the first time since her sudden appearance. "Tousan... I hope he's alright."  
  
"I'm sure he's fine." He assured her. "Nobody's tough enough to take out both you and your father."  
  
It was rather odd, talking to her like this. He could see the background thru her, and yet, it was hard not to think of her as being right there next to him.   
  
It was going to take some getting used to consoling her on the fact of her own death. At least he knew what not to say.   
  
She brightened up and smiled at him again. "Thanks Zelgadiss-san."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
***  
  
"Wow..." Amelia gulped as they looked down over the city of Saillune a week later. The White Magic Capital appeared to have undergone a personality change. There were black banners everywhere.  
  
The effect was very somber, and extremely chilling.  
  
"You ready?" He asked, watching her. She hesitated, then nodded.   
  
"As ready as I'm going to be." Amelia said in a small voice. She appeared to have shrunk into herself, displaying none of the vibrancy that had been her trademark both in life and the past several days.  
  
He nodded. "I'm right here." Zelgadiss said simply, leaving the offer open for her.   
  
She nodded, drifting closer. "Thanks."  
  
"You're welcome."  
  
***  
  
To their surprise, Lina and Gourry were already in Saillune. The Swordsman and the Sorceress both looked exhausted and Lina had bags under her eyes.   
  
"Oh." Amelia looked sad at her friends appearance. "Poor Lina-san. Gourry-san..."  
  
Zelgadiss said nothing, but casually walked over. Gourry noticed and waved. "Oi! Zelgadiss!"  
  
He waved back. Amelia looked crestfallen for a moment at the fact that her other friends couldn't see her as well, then shrugged it off. "Lina. Gourry."  
  
Lina gave him a weak smile. "Was wondering if you had heard. The Memorial Service is tomorrow."  
  
"Found out a week ago." He explained. "How are you doing?"  
  
He caught sight of Amelia's worried face and added, "How is Prince Phil taking it?"  
  
"We haven't seen him. He's locked himself in the Palace since the assassination." Lina explained.  
  
"What about Garcia? Any sign of her?"  
  
She shook her head. "Just Naga. She seemed to be rather deep in her cups."  
  
"Naga?"  
  
Lina waved the question off. "Someone I used to travel with occasionally." She turned serious. "How are you doing, Zelgadiss?"  
  
He shrugged. "As well as be expected. Where are you staying? I could use a bit of a rest."  
  
Both Lina and Gourry gave him strange looks at his question. "This way." Lina said, looking decidedly suspicious.   
  
They turned and wandered back down the street, Zelgadiss following him. "They're worried about you." Amelia observed. "You're not reacting like they'd expect of you."  
  
Zelgadiss gave a slight shrug. "They're in mourning. It's rather hard for me to mourn someone I'm talking to." He commented dryly.  
  
"Oh." Amelia seemed to be a bit more heartened at his words, but remained rather somber looking.  
  
"Why don't you go see your father?" He suggested. "It's not like the guards can stop you from doing so."  
  
Amelia looked scared at the idea, moving closer to him. "I'll see him tomorrow." She whispered. "Right now, I'd rather stay close to you."  
  
He gave her a strange look, but said nothing to contradict it.  
  
Amelia usually never passed up a chance to see her Father.   
  
***  
  
The Memorial Service was a somber occasion. People where -everywhere-. Talking, crying or just sitting there, staring at nothing. The Princess of Saillune was just as much loved as her Father was.  
  
As Amelia's friends, the 3 of them had seats near the front of the service. Zelgadiss would have preferred not to be sitting in so public of a place, but he couldn't see a way around it. And it gave Amelia a better view her Father.  
  
Lina and Gourry had over heard his conversing with Amelia the previous night and had apparently reached the conclusion that the strain of loosing the Princess had snapped what was left of his brain. He was in no mood to contradict them. He'd never cared what people had thought of him before and he wasn't going to start now.   
  
Even if the pitying looks they were giving him were getting on his nerves.  
  
Amelia looked nervous. The Princess' personality was rarely sad or depressed, and the somber atmosphere was starting to get to her. Especially considering that that it was directed at her. She kept looking around nervously, as if expecting something to jump out at her and try to eat her.  
  
He gave her a puzzled look, unwilling to voice his concerns in front of so many people. She gave him a halfhearted smile. "There's something here. Some -things- actually." Amelia explained. "They feel... dark."  
  
Zelgadiss frowned, trying to puzzle it out. In the mean time, Amelia moved closer to him, as if attempting to hide in his cloak.   
  
The service started. Long-winded speeches about Amelia's beauty, her nobility, courage and her quest for Justice. There were presentations of flowers, and singing. Zelgadiss was beginning to wonder if he was being punished. Singing and crying people just didn't work.  
  
"Zelgadiss-san." Amelia said urgently, attempting to tug on his cloak and succeeded in passing her hand thru him instead. He blinked and looked at her. "Zelgadiss-san, there's someone on the second balcony casting a spell."  
  
He turned and looked up in the direction that she pointed. There were lots of people on the second balcony. "Where?"  
  
"There! He's dressed in black."  
  
Zelgadiss barely refrained from sweatdropping. Almost -everyone- was dressed in black.  
  
"Uh, off to the right. In the front." She amended.  
  
The trademark glow of a spell helped him pinpoint the culprit. She was right. He glanced back at the pulpit, where the next speaker was coming up.   
  
It was Prince Phil.   
  
"Look out!" Amelia yelped.  
  
Without a second thought, Zelgadiss leaped toward Phil. "Balus Wall!" He shouted, a wall appearing between incoming spell and it's target. The Fireball dissipated harmlessly off of the shield.   
  
"Lina!" He barked. The Redhead was already in the air, Gourry hanging from her arms, the Sword of Light in his hand.  
  
"Gourry-BOMB!" She shouted, tossing him toward the culprit. There was an in-human screech, as the would-be assassin screamed and attempted to run. Gourry was on him in a flash, knocking him out without harming any of the bystanders.   
  
"Whooo-hoooo!" Lina cheered. "Go, Gourry!"  
  
"Let's get you somewhere safe, just in case." Zelgadiss said, quickly escorting Prince Phil away from the fighting. Amelia lead the way, her eyes flickering back and forth incase of an ambush. He was pleased to notice that several guards fell back to cover their exit.   
  
"Here we are, Your Highness." Zelgadiss opened the door to a room that Amelia pointed to. It was a small meeting room, probably meant for preparing and retiring from the podium out front.   
  
Phil nodded, sitting down in one of the chairs. He looked completely despondent, as if all the life had been drained out of him. He had appeared to have aged several years since the last time Zelgadiss had seen him.   
  
Amelia hovered around her father, eyes sad. "Tousan..."  
  
Zelgadiss didn't know what to say, so he quietly leaned next to the door, taking up a guard position.   
  
Running footsteps in the hall several minutes later caught his attention. He peeked out in time to see the distinctive hair colours of Lina and Gourry. Lina looked pleased, they had gotten the culprit. And from the lack of shaking in the building, without destroying the place.   
  
He opened the door and the dynamic duo skidded in. "Nailed him." Lina grinned.   
  
Evidently, the fight had been therapeutic for both of them. It was a good way for them to deal with their frustrations.  
  
"Vic-tory!" Amelia grinned, jumping up on the table to do a victory pose. Zelgadiss sweatdropped.   
  
Someone tsked above him. "How rude, shoes on the table. Zelgadiss, you should really teach your ghost some manners."  
  
Amelia squeaked as Xelloss materialized, diving behind him to hide under his cape. He looked back at her. "It's just Xelloss."  
  
She looked at him with wide-eyes as she trembled. "But... he's -evil-." She said the word as if she had never realised it before.  
  
Xelloss giggled, ducking his head thru Zelgadiss' chest. "Really, Amelia-chan. I thought you knew that."   
  
Amelia squeaked, then pushed Xelloss out of Zelgadiss, floating halfway thru him as well. "You stay out of Zelgadiss-san!" She scolded.   
  
Zelgadiss merely blinked as the 2 then proceeded to chase each other around, over and thru him. After a few moments, his eyebrow twitched, a vein popping in his head.  
  
"That's IT! Xelloss! You stand over there! Amelia! Go stand right there!" He pointed, sending them to opposite sides of the room. They did as ordered, Amelia glaring protectively at Xelloss, who merely grinned. The bastard was probably enjoying tormenting him.  
  
"Zel?" Lina and Gourry gave him looks of concern from their post next to Prince Phil.   
  
"WHAT?!"  
  
"Who are you talking to? There's nobody here."  
  
Zelgadiss sighed. Great. Now they thought he was even crazier than before. In front of Prince Phil, at that.  
  
Xelloss giggled, becoming solid. "Am -I- nobody, Lina-chan?"  
  
"Xelloss!" Lina and Gourry jumped. "What are you doing here?!"  
  
"What? And miss Amelia-chan's Memorial?" He asked, looking wounded. "She was a good friend of mine too, you know."  
  
Zelgadiss snarled silently at him. A free 'All-You-Can-Eat' Mazoku buffet, complements of Saillune was more like it.   
  
Lina looked confused, looking between Zelgadiss and Xelloss before finally settling on Zelgadiss. "Okay... So what were you doing talking to Amelia?!"  
  
He sighed, crossing his arms. He really didn't want to be discussing this with them, especially not in front of Amelia's father. Amelia just looked at everyone, clearly feeling out of place.  
  
"Really, Lina-san." Xelloss shook a finger at her. "You would think a Great-grandchild of Rezo would inherit some of his abilities. Just because you cannot see what is in front of you doesn't mean that he can't."  
  
Zelgadiss flinched at the mention of his relation to Rezo. "What ever happened to 'Sore wa himitsu desu'?" He snapped at the Trickster Priest. Xelloss smirked, sending Amelia into his cloak again. Yup. The bastard was enjoying embarrassing him. "And stop smirking like that! You're scaring Amelia!"  
  
"Y-you can see Ame-chan?" Phil asked, looking at him with startled eyes. Ooops.  
  
"Yeah." He sighed, deflating a little. "I can. For about a week now. She's fine, Prince Phil. She's worried about you, tho."  
  
Amelia gave him a smile for that. "Thanks."   
  
Phil let out a big sigh, as if a weight was lifted off his shoulders. "She's not mad? How is she doing?"  
  
Amelia puffed herself up, the beginnings of a long and flowery speech. "I'm not going to do a Justice Speech." He deadpanned.   
  
She deflated as quickly as she had puffed herself up. "Take all the fun out of it." Amelia grumbled. He smirked.   
  
"Um... No, I'm not mad at him, I love him very much. And you're taking very good care of me."  
  
He raised an eyebrow and echoed her sentiments. "No, she's not mad at you, she loves you very much." He repeated dutifully. "And she's says I'm taking good care of her, but I have no idea how..."  
  
"How do you take care of a ghost?" Gourry asked.  
  
Zelgadiss shrugged. Amelia's being a ghost had been a taboo subject during their trip here. It wasn't that either of them were afraid of it, it just had not been the time to discuss it.   
  
Amelia got a small, but smug grin on her face as she draped herself over his shoulders. He blinked. "Oh."  
  
"'Oh'?" Lina caught the small sound and grinned. "Just what is this 'Oh'?"  
  
He glared at her. "Lina..." She waved it off, eyes sparkling mischievously.  
  
Prince Phil scowled thoughtfully. "-Why- is my Amelia a ghost?" He questioned, looking much more like the ruler they were used to. "And why is it only Zelgadiss-san can see her?"  
  
Zelgadiss' eyebrows came together with a slow grinding sound. Ghosts tended to be people who died tragically and had some sort of hateful or sad memory that they couldn't leave behind, and there fore got trapped between this world and the next. Amelia's death could be considered tragic, but he had yet to see her act differently than when she was alive. She was still as happy and as bubbly as ever.  
  
Amelia's reaction was different. She blushed. Xelloss snickered quietly to himself.   
  
"I was worried about everyone." Amelia said softly, looking down. "This way I could keep an eye on them."  
  
Zelgadiss cleared his throat. "She was worried about everyone. And by haunting me, she could keep an eye on everyone." He translated.   
  
"So, why Zel?" Lina asked again.   
  
"Ghosts have to haunt something." Xelloss spoke up cheerfully. "It keeps them tied to this world."  
  
"And Zelgadiss-san's magic aura is similar to mine. It hides me easily." Amelia added.  
  
"So that's why you never go more than a room away." He mused. She hadn't left his side, much less his eyesight since she'd shown up.  
  
Amelia nodded. "There are Shingami out there. I don't want to die for real yet."  
  
Lina grinned. "How's it feel to be Amelia's tombstone, Zelgadiss?"  
  
"What?!"  
  
"He -is- part rock..." Gourry mused thoughtfully.  
  
The redhead's grin turned downright predatory. "So.... What DO you want on your tombstone, Amelia?"  
  
"Lina-san!!!" Amelia scolded, blushing pumpernickel.   
  
He jerked a thumb in Amelia's direction. "What she said."  
  
The fact that no one else could hear what the Undead Princess said was beside the point. They could fill the gaps in on their own.  
  
Neither Lina nor Gourry quite knew how to respond to a statement that they couldn't hear.  
  
"Back to the original question. Why did she die?" Phil asked gravely.  
  
Xelloss raised a hand. "I can answer that one."  
  
All eyes turned to the Mazoku Priest. "For what price, Xelloss?" Lina growled warily.  
  
"No price, Lina-chan. It was a mistake."  
  
"What?!"  
  
"It was a mistake." Xelloss repeated. "A young upstart thought that if he destroyed the White Magic Capitol of the world, humans would be defenseless. He was wrong. And has been dealt with accordingly."  
  
Shivers ran down Zelgadiss' spine. He did not want to know what that meant. Amelia looked pale as well.   
  
"Why would the Mazoku want to protect Saillune?" Lina asked, crossing her arms.  
  
"My Dear Lina." Xelloss cracked open an eye. "Surely you know the answer to that."  
  
With a slight bow the Trickster vanished, his words hanging in the air.  
  
"Sore wa himitsu desu..."  
  
***  
  
"So where are we going, Zelgadiss-san?" Amelia asked cheerfully. The City of Saillune was behind them, decorated in black no more. Prince Phil had decided to celebrate his daughter's life instead of morning her death, a feeling that had been quickly adopted by his people.  
  
It was sunrise, the sun basking everything in hues of pink and gold. Amelia fairly glowed in the light, looking angelic. Zelgadiss blinked, something that had been out of alignment the past several days finally clicking into place.   
  
"You really are dead, aren't you?"  
  
Amelia gave him a sad smile and nodded. "Yes."  
  
Zelgadiss nodded thoughtfully, thinking. "How do you feel about a quest?"  
  
She tilted her head. "Zelgadiss-san?"  
  
He gave her a slight smile and started to walk. "Let's find you a new body."  
  
"Zelgadiss-san?!" Amelia yelped, quickly speeding up to follow him. "What about your cure?"  
  
"Who says we can't look for both at the same time?"  
  
The Princess gave him a sly smile. "You just want to be able to touch me out side of your dreams."  
  
Zelgadiss blushed.  
  
Fin.  
  
*****  
Last part is thanks to Ryo Hoshi, who pointed out that the only way that Zel could get laid now was in his dreams. #^^#   
Poor Zel. Not only is he doomed to be haunted for the rest of his life, he's gonna die a virgin...   
  
If you can think of a better name, please lemme know! 


End file.
